limp
/lɪmp/ verb, noun, adjective
Forms limps limping limped limper limpest lamp lump
- verb (intransitive) To walk lamely, as if favoring one leg.
- verb (intransitive, figurative, of a vehicle) To travel with a malfunctioning system of propulsion. “The bomber limped home on one engine.”
- verb (intransitive, figurative) To move or proceed irregularly. “limping verses”
- verb (poker slang, intransitive) To call, particularly in an unraised pot pre-flop.
- noun An irregular, jerky or awkward gait. “She walks with a limp.”
- noun A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve.
- adjective Flaccid; flabby, resembling flesh.
- adjective Lacking stiffness; floppy, flimsy.
- adjective Soft; weak, especially physically.
- adjective (slang, of a penis) Not erect.
- adjective (slang, of a man) Not having an erection.
- verb (intransitive, stative) To be inadequate or unsatisfactory.
- noun A scraper of board or sheet-iron shaped like half the head of a small cask, used for scraping the ore off the sieve in the operation of hand-jigging.
- verb (obsolete, intransitive) To happen; befall; chance.
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To come upon; meet.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English limpen (“to fall short”), from Old English limpan, from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”).
Cognate with Low German lumpen (“to limp”), Middle High German limpfen (“to hobble, limp”), dialectal German lampen (“to hang down loosely”), Icelandic limpa (“limpness, weakness”).
From Middle English *limp, *lemp, from Old English *lemp (recorded only in compound lemphealt (“limping”), from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with German lampecht (“flaccid, limp”), Icelandic lempinn, lempiligur (“pliable, gentle”). See above.
From Middle English limpen, from Old English limpan (“to happen, occur, exist, belong to, suit, befit, concern”).
Cognate with Scots limp (“to chance to be, come”), Middle Dutch limpen (“to happen”), Middle Low German gelimpen (“to moderate, treat mildly”), Middle High German limfen (“to suit, become”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To halt; to walk lamely. Also used figuratively. Shak.
- noun A halt; the act of limping.
- noun A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve.
- adjective Flaccid; flabby, as flesh. Walton.
Etymology [Cf. Icel. limpa limpness, weakness, and E.lap, n., lop, v. t. Cf. Limber, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “limp”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details